Rabbi Jacob Emden’s Appeal to the Christians…

Rabbi Jacob Emden (d. 1776) was a famous Rabbi for his day and is highly regarded in the Orthodox Jewish tradition, particularly among the Chasidic Jews. This epistle, I think is quite a challenge and a revelation that Christians today (like their predecessors in Europe) need to hear. Read this with and open mind and a heart tuned to the Spirit of God, rather than our own “comfort zone” of theology.

Rabbi Jacob Emden’s Letter (Seder Olam Rabbah Vezuta)

Heirs of the Church: Papias

Papias, elder of Hierapolis in Phrygia, was a disciple of the Apostle John and a friend of Polycarp, and it is believed that he, too, died circa 155 A.D. He is highly spoken of by many of the later Fathers as being a man strong in the knowledge of the Scriptures – hearing of the Gospel in all its elements from those who had been disciples of the Apostles, such as Polycarp and Ignatius.

Heirs of the Church: Polycarp

 

Polycarp, elder of Smyrna, and the famous martyr who bore bold testimony before the Roman proconsul in Smyrna as an aged man, was, like Ignatius, a disciple of the Apostle John. We know little else about him but we believe, due to the lateness of his death, that he would have been a very young man when he came to faith (at the most conservative estimate, fourteen years of age – making him one hundred at the time of his death) and studied under the tutelage of the Apostle John. His birth, then, would have occurred shortly before or after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. – Polycarp thus representing the firstfruits of a new era: the end of the Temple worship for Jews – both believing and non-believing and the ultimate fulfillment of Jesus’ promise that men would “worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23).

 

Heirs of the Church: Ignatius

Ignatius, elder of Antioch, is one of the most celebrated Fathers of the Early Church. A disciple of the Apostle John, Ignatius was an elder in that firstborn of all Gentile churches, where “the disciples were first called Christians” (Acts 11:26). He was known for his fatherly wisdom and well-respected by many theologians in the following centuries - Eusebius, Origen, and Jerome included. He was associated with Polycarp, an elder of Smyrna and a fellow disciple of John.

The Sanhedrin and the Church, Part IV

The Acts of the Apostles – and the history of the Church known for certain of its infant years – ends shortly thereafter and no more is spoken concerning their relationship with the Sanhedrin. Flavius Josephus, a Jewish zealot, captive, and author under the patronage of Vespasian and his son Titus – reports one incident that implies the action of certain members of the Sanhedrin – namely, the Sadducees:

The Sanhedrin and the Church, Part III

Despite the fact that the Jewish Sanhedrin and the Sanhedrin of the Church continued to exist separately for the next three centuries, it was recognized by many pious Jews that the “Followers of the Way” were not simple Law-breakers, but were people of strong faith in Messiah – a Messiah they simply could not accept.  In many ways, these Jewish believers are similar to the Chabad Orthodox Jews who believe the Rebbe to be Messiah and to still be alive today despite the understanding by everyone else that he is indeed dead.  Yet, the difference is that the Master of the Way had been dead at one time but had risen to life, and on to the glory at the right hand of the Father.

Heirs of the Church: Clement

Clement, an elder of Rome, is viewed as one of the early successors to the eldership of Rome after the deaths of the Apostles Paul and Peter. He is known to have served along with Linus and Anacletus. He is accorded as being in association with the Apostle Peter most directly by Roman Catholic tradition. The Eastern Orthodox tradition states that he was one of the Seventy Apostles of Luke 10. Due to the heavily documented opinion of the Early Fathers, I have adopted the opinion of the Western tradition that Clement was an elder in Rome, serving together with Linus and Anacletus - and would have been too young during Jesus’ ministry - not to mention being disregarded due to his Gentile blood.

Heirs of the Church: Mathetes

Note: After an abortive attempt at looking at the writings of the Writings of the Early Church Fathers, I’ve determined that the best course of action is to start over. So, this is the start of a new series: The Heirs of the Church.

The Epistle to Diognetus is of unknown authorship, but the compiler of these works has ventured to christen him as Mathetes – that is, “a disciple” – based solely upon the claim of the author in one segment of the text, to be “a disciple of the Apostles.” Beyond this claim, there is nothing more that can be known about him save that he is a “teacher of the Gentiles” in his ministry. This betrays an early writing – a time when Jewish and Gentile believers, although united in faith, remained separate in practice and in obligation to the Laws which bound their respective peoples. [1]

The Sanhedrin and the Church, Part II

With the loss of the Sanhedrin’s legitimacy, the Church was left to itself for quite some time, yet the Sanhedrin’s structure and style was soon adopted. The Council of Jerusalem operated in a manner very similar to the disputes of the Sanhedrin. Many, in fact, refer to James the Just as the Nasi of this council, seeing as he was one of the chief “pillars of the church” and issued a ruling concerning the Gentiles in the Church: that they should follow the Seven Laws of Noah in their living:

The Sanhedrin and the Church, Part I

The Sanhedrin has quite a reputation in Christian circles that is sadly negative. Its role in the death of Jesus has left a seemingly irremovable stain on its name and the Hebrew people have endured much grief because of it - to the shame of the Church. At the heart of this tragedy is a lack of understanding concerning the Sanhedrin’s origins and role - as well as its impact on the Church. As the Church begins to understand its importance in the past, so it will see also its vitality in the future.